Siye Nominal Morphology
Nominal Morphology
Cases
Core Cases
1a. NOMINATIVE (NOM): -0 NOM: Pronouns, Personal Names
The Nominative Case in Standard Siye is used for the subject of an intransitive clause and the subject of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is either a pronoun or a personal name. Where a Siye dialect draws the line between Nominative/Accusative and Absolutive/Ergative, in other words, where the split of the split-ergative occurs, is the primary isogloss between Siye dialects.
1b. ABSOLUTIVE (ABS): -0 ABS: Everything Except Pronouns and Personal Names
The Absolutive Case is used for the subject of an intransitive clause and the object of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is not a pronoun or a personal name.
2. ACCUSATIVE (ACC): -a, -0, -ha
The Accusative Case is used for the object of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is either a pronoun or personal name. -ha occurs after syllables containing a nasal vowel. The Accusative Case is vulnerable to the depredations of vowel dominance, and therefore has a -0 surface form. Many personal names in Standard Siye have either a separate Accusative form in -a or no difference between Nominative and Accusative
3. ERGATIVE (ERG): -ya, -na
The Ergative Case is used for the subject of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is not a pronoun or a personal name. -na follows a syllable contained a nasal consonant or a nasal vowel; -ya follows otherwise. This is a remnant of the period in which the Siye-speakers were a conquered people.
Peripheral Cases
4. GENITIVE (GEN): -ne
The Genitive Case is used to describe alienable possession or an accidental characteristic of a object. There is an archaic form -e, which is found in place names such as Luse.
5. POSSESSIVE (POSS): -me
The Possessive Case is used to describe inalienable possession or an essential characteristic of an object. The Possessive Case, unlike the other Cases, precedes rather than follows the grammatical number suffix. The reason for this anomaly is not clear, and many a scholar of the Guild has written his first professional linguistic essay on this topic.
6. ABLATIVE (ABL): -sum
The Ablative Case is used to describe motion away from a point or origin from a particular location. It is also used to describe the origin of a person (although the Genitive and Possessive are also used for this) or reason of a condition.
7. LOCATIVE (LOC): -kem
The Locative Case is used to describe a location, or, in ditransitive clauses, the object being transferred or the price of the object in the Absolutive Case (more rarely, Accusative Case).
8. (AL)LATIVE/DATIVE (ALL): -su
The Dative Case is used for the inanimate indirect object of a main clause and the inanimate direct object of a Causative Construction clause when the verb of the Causative Construction clause is in the perfective aspect.
9. DATIVE-BENEFACTIVE (DAT): -tu
The Dative Case is used for the animate indirect object of a main clause and the animate direct object of a Causative Construction clause when the verb of the Causative Construction clause is in the perfective aspect.
10. INSTRUMENTAL (INS): -ki
The Instrumental Case is used to describe the means by which something is done. This case is only used with Inanimate nouns in Standard Siye; therefore it is rude to use the Instrumental Case with an Animate nouns. The Instrumental Case is used for the inanimate direct object of a Causative Construction Clause when the verb of the clause is in the perfective aspect. Prior to 2192, the postposition /eki/ (e+INS) plus an animate noun in the Genitive Case was used for the animate equivalent. In 2192, the Animate Instrumental case (14. -neki) was authorized to replace this construction.
11. ADVERBIAL (ADV): -ku
The Adverbial Case converts roots into adverbs. The Guild of Scholars treats this as a case rather than a separate part of speech.
12. EQUATIVE (EQ): -pu
The Equative Case is used to describe the second noun or adjective in a predicate statement. It is also used as a vocative external to the core arguments of the clause.
13. COMITATIVE (COM): -ni
The Comitative Case is used to describe accompaniment. It also serves as the primary nominal form of 'and', thus contrasting with the primarily verbal form -(h)(a)m.
Newly Authorized Cases
As of 2192,the following cases were declared legal for formal writing. All of them are the result of contractions between the Genitive Case and postpositions that began with e-.
14. ANIMATE INSTRUMENTAL (ANS): -neki
The Animate Instrumental Case is used for the demoted animate agent of the subordinate clause in a Causative Construction.
Le ineki liyo elelipunama.
le-0 i-neki liyo-0 e-le-li-pu-sum-na-ma
1-NOM 3-ANS food-ABS 4-1-eat.IMPFV-SG-CAUS-DIR.UP-IMPFV.POS.REALIS
I will feed him (=I will cause him to eat the food)
15. ELATIVE (ELA): -nesum
The Elative Case is used for motion out of a location.
Laye silinemsum itupusuna.
laye-0 sili-nemsum i-tu-pu-tu-na
woman-ABS house-ELA 3-go.PFV-SG-DIR.ALL-PFV.POS.REALIS
The woman came out of the house.
16. INESSIVE (INE): -nemkim
The Inessive Case is used for position inside of a location.
Laye silinemkim ikupununa.
laye-0 sili-nemkim i-ku-pu-nu-ma
woman-ABS house-ILL 3-sleep.IMPFV-SG-DIR.DOWN-IMPFV.POS.REALIS
The woman came out of the house.
17. ILLATIVE (ILL): -nemtu
The Illative Case is used for motion into a location.
Laye silinemtu itupusuna.
laye-0 sili-nemtu i-tu-pu-su-na
woman-ABS house-ILL 3-go.PFV-SG-DIR.ABL-PFV.POS.REALIS
The woman went to the house.
Complex cases
Complex cases occur when Suffixaufnahme places an Accusative -a after another case suffix which ends in a vowel. These are not official cases, and therefore illegitimate and immoral, but it is necessary to recognize these forms when in the the western provinces or handling a document from that region.
5. ACCUSI-GENITIVE (AGEN): -na (<-ne-a)
6. ACCUSI-POSSESSIVE (APOSS): -ma(< -me-a)
7. ACCUSI-ABLATIVE (AABL): -sumha (< -sum-a)
8. ACCUSI-LOCATIVE (ALOC): -kemha (< -kem-a)
9. ACCUSI-(AL)LATIVE/DATIVE (AALL): -su (< -su-a)
10. ACCUSI-DATIVE (ADAT): -tu (<-tu-a)
11. ACCUSI-INSTRUMENTAL (AINS): -ka (<-ki-a)
12. ACCUSI-ADVERBIAL (AADV): -ku (<-ku-a)
13. ACCUSI-EQUATIVE (AEQ): -pu (<-pu-a)
14. ACCUSI-COMITATIVE (COM): -na (<-ni-a)
Grammatical Number
Grammatical Numbers:
NULL (NL): -ku, -hu, -u
The Null Number refers to the absence of a particular thing. When used with an adjective, the Null Number changes an adjective to its opposite, although where "opposite" in this situation indicates reversal or absence depends on the noun.
SINGULAR (SG): -0
The Singular Number is used with singular nouns, some abstract nouns, and mass nouns. It is also the citation form of a Standard Siye word.
DUAL (DU): -so
The Dual Number is used to refer to exactly two things. Although pairs of items, such as eyes, are normally in the Dual Number, the Dual Number does not inherently indicate a pair.
PAUCAL (PAUC): -ke
The Paucal Number refers to a group which is smaller than that of Plural Number but more than the Dual Number. This is a culturally determined distinction.
PLURAL (PL): -lo
The Plural Number refers to a group, larger than that of Paucal Number. This is the generic plural in Siye.
PANTIC (PAN): -ka
The Pantic Number refers to all of a certain thing. It is also used as an ethnic or group designation.
Structure: ROOT-NUMBER-CASE, except for the Possessive Case, in which case the order is ROOT-CASE-NUMBER.
Definiteness and Numeral Placement
Siye nouns are inherently definite.
tupi-ya bird-ERG the bird
An indefinite noun requires a following /tum/.
tupi tum-na bird INDEF-ERG a bird
Adjectives follow the noun. (The dashes are visible for clarity of construction)
tupi tuki-ya bird white-ERG the white bird
tupi tuki tum-na bird white INDEF-ERG a white bird
The demonstrative /me/ provides further definition.
tupi tuki me-na bird white DEF-ERG this/that white bird
The numeral one, as all numerals do, precedes the verb. Siye numerals are definite.
tum tupi-ya 1 bird-ERG one bird
so tupi-so-ya 2 bird-DU-ERG two birds
ko tupi-lo-ya 5 bird-PL-ERG five birds
ko tupi-lo me-na 5 bird-PL DEF-ERG those five birds
Pronouns
In Standard Siye, all the pronouns have a nominative-accusative contrast rather than an ergative-absolutive one. The accusative form is used exclusively for the Accusative case; peripheral cases use the same form as the nominative. Most accusative forms end in /a/.
le, la: 1st person (1)
pe, sa: 2nd person (2)
/pe/ and /sa/ derive from different pronominal roots.
i, ya: 3rd person animate (3)
Some members of the Guild of Scholars believe that /i/ derives from a deictic particle which supplanted /e/ as the primary 3rd person form.
e, a: 3rd person inanimate (4)
mu: 3rd person indefinite (INDEF)
/mu/ is both Nominative and Accusative, animate and inanimate.
Non-standard pronouns
Non-standard pronouns are the ergative-absolutive forms used in the eastern provinces in lieu of the nominative-accusative ones. In documents other than contracts and academic works, non-standard pronouns may appear.
peya, pe: 2nd person (Far Eastern Province, Lake)
Note that non-standard /pe/ (absolutive) is identical to standard /pe/ (nominative).
iya, i: 3rd person animate (Eastern Provinces, Lake)
Note that non-standard /i/ (absolutive) is identical to standard /i/ (nominative). /iya/ appears frequently in folk songs, even those composed by speakers of Standard Siye, as a strengthened form of /i/, which is monosyllabic, a lone vowel, and lowest on the vowel dominance hierarchy.
eya, e: 3rd person inanimate (Far Eastern Province, Mid-Eastern Province, Lake)
Note that non-standard /e/ (absolutive) is identical to standard /e/ (nominative). /eya/ appears outside of the eastern dialects much less frequently than /iya/.
muna, mu: 3rd person indefinite (Far Eastern Province, Mid-Eastern Province, Lake)
Note that in those dialects the ergative and absolutive forms of the 3rd person indefinite are distinct. Since the emergence of vowel dominance, there has been a small but vocal faction in the Guild of Scholars (the "Munayamlo") which advocates the use of /muna/~/mu/ to resolve ambiguities in current Standard Siye.
